HVAC Sizing Software for Concrete Homes
The unique energy-saving properties of insulating concrete walls have been largely ignored when it comes to heating and cooling systems.
HVAC systems for ICF homes routinely are sized as if they were wood-frame houses. In some cases, they are sized based on methods found in Manual J and the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals. These methods can be cumbersome and do not account for the unique properties of concrete walls—their thermal mass, high level of insulation, and low air leakage/infiltration. In other cases, sizes of HVAC systems are based on an old rule-of-thumb that approximates equipment size from the floor area of living space. In any case, the result is an inefficient HVAC system—one that is often greatly oversized.
John Gajda, Principal Engineer in Building Science & Sustainability at CTLGroup, authored this June 2005 Residential Concrete article.
Source: Residential Concrete
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